Pages

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Chocolate almond pomegranate biscotti

I was making biscotti last night for a friend and decided I'd make a second batch and try a new chocolate biscotti. After a Google search, I landed on David Lebovitz recipe (made with adaptations):2 cups flour3/4 cups top-quality cocoa powder1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt3 large eggs, at room temperature1 cup sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon almond extract1 cup almonds, toasted and very coarsely-chopped3/4 cups chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, cream the eggs, sugar, vanilla and almond extract . In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and then combine with the ingredients in the mixing bowl. The almonds were coarsely chopped and toasted in a pan on the stove-top.

Rather than adding 3/4 cup of chocolate chips, I added 3/4 cup of Dark Chocolate Pomegranates. I buy the Brookside Dark Chocolate Pomegranate and Acai w/Blueberries at Costco.

I am not a fan of dark chocolate, but this has become my favorite cheat treat.

Divide the dough in two and roll a log approximately 8-9" long, flatten to 3-4" wide and a inch or so high. Place on parchment paper for baking and brush the tops with a whisked egg white. The recipe called for a sprinkle of course or crystal sugar. I added emerald sugar to one log.

Bake 350F for 25 minutes. Remove and cool. As you can see, the logs don't spread as much as some other biscotti recipes, so keep that in mind while forming the logs.

Slice diagonal with a serrated knife about 1/2" thick and return flat side down to the baking sheet for the second baking. Bake 10 minutes and then flip each biscotti to bake 10 minutes on the other side. Remove from oven and cool.

I dipped the ends in melted chocolate and sprinkled with more of the emerald sugar.

Enjoy with your favorite cup of coffee. The pomegranates are a nice chewy surprise to the crisp twice-baked cookie.

How do you like your biscotti? I'm not a coffee drinker and I much prefer a soft cookie, but I do love my mom's biscotti. Even better, I like biscotti after the first bake. The twice baking is what makes it hard and makes it biscotti.